In my case, the concept is simply antithetical to everything I appreciate about Pokémon as well as video games in general. Him and me are on basically the same page. My comment about Niantic was based on, from my understanding, the popularity taking a rapid nose dive since a year or so ago. I have nothing against anyone who enjoys it, but I don't want it forced on me if I end up playing one of these Switch titles.

I have nothing against anyone who enjoys it, but I don't want it forced on me if I end up playing one of these Switch titles.

I agree with you on this bit for sure. Transferring Pokemon in from Go, along with the updated catch mechanics, is something that I'd like to avoid, or at least be toggle-able, in console titles. That's moreso for the catch mechanics -- I hope transferring Pokemon in from Go doesn't give players who use it a distinct advantage over others.

His musical contributions are still ranking among my favorites even up through Sun and Moon, but if he continues to stay in a directing role, this series is in real trouble. As someone on Twitter aptly put it, "Why would I pay $60 for something I can get on the AppStore for free with the same level of gameplay?"

I didn't pull the same feeling from the article at all. The only place where he really talks about the future is in the section about HMs. The future of the series outside of these games isn't really mentioned at all.

The author of the article asks a question about the next RPGs (basically asking if these games will have anything for hardcore fans other than new ones "should hardcore fans buy this game or wait for the next RPG?") where Masuda mentions the co-op catching technique. No problem, that just means these particular games aren't for me. Unless there's something I'm missing, I don't see anything in the article which would make me feel as if Masuda's taking the series in an entirely new (read: casual) direction.

Now, if the 2019 "hardcore" games have a lot of core features removed or retain some new mechanics introduced in Let's Go, then I'll be worried.

So when we tried to think about how kids these days generally play games, what came to mind was mobile games really. Games which you play for a short time, and perhaps you'll be moving between various games pretty quickly, so if it was a game that kind of takes about two hours to get into, we thought that perhaps people might get a bit bored and then decide to move on to a different game. So back in the day, even playing in the virtual console version of the original Pikachu version, it might take you know thirty hours, forty hours to kind of complete, or progress significantly in the game. And in this age with so many games to choose from, we thought that we'd rather make something that was easier to progress through, and kind of tailor that playstyle to how we think that the playstyle has evolved over the years and how children are playing games now.

(especially when combined with this bit)

Quote from: Jun'ichi Masuda

We created a "balanced" game that was suited for our time and age, where everyone is very busy and young people have various means of entertainment. Using smartphones and other devices they can access a great number of games, so the time they dedicate to a single game is less than in the past. We didn't put the Battle Frontier in ORAS for this very reason.

is what I was referring to. "Hardcore" entries are already having core features removed.

Oh yeah, I see it now. That quote about the Battle Frontier is really damning. I'm all aboard the "Fire Masuda" train if he keeps moving Pokemon down the more accessible, mobile-friendly path that it's on currently.

His explanation about why your rivals aren't jerks anymore is some of the dumbest s**t I've ever read, and I once read a James Patterson novel.

Quote

"I think the biggest reason that rivals were more of a jerk in the early days is that we were just limited in what we could express with the pixel graphics," Masuda told GameSpot through an interpreter. "There's not much that you can do with that kind of little sprite on the screen, so we worked harder to characterize them through dialogue and give them certain personalities.

"Also, because it's just dialogue and there's not a whole lot going on on the screen, it doesn't give as harsh of an impression even if they're jerks, I think. Now we have HD graphics and the visuals are much more impressive. If you also made him a jerk, the impression would be a lot stronger on players. Another thing, just my own personal take, is that it feels that people with those kinds of personalities these days are just not as accepted by players as they were back then."

Motherfucker, your rival's personality is dictated through text. If you were actually limited due to the graphics, then those limitations were self-imposed and that means you're a hack.